Muslims Lauded for Ending Crime in Norwegian City

KRISTIANSAND, Norway – Thanks to a neighborhood watch program launched by Muslims, organized gang crime amongyoung peoplehas almost stopped, according to the local police in the city of Kristiansand, Vest-Agder County in southernmost Norway, Sputnik Newsreported on Thursday.

“We tell the youngsters that fighting is not tough,” said Talal Haydar, the chairman of the Muslim Union in Agder, and one of the initiators of the patrol routine, national broadcasterNRKreported.

According to Haydar, they have “broad contacts” with local youths.

“We are there to build a relationship with them. When the youth see our leaders go together with the police and support their work, they understand that it’s not ‘us and them,’ but ‘we,'” Haydar explained.

Of these, 108 were immigrants or second-generation immigrants. This prompted Kristiansand’s Muslim leaders to respond by taking to the streets and organizing their own anti-crime patrols.

People with immigrant backgrounds constitute over 15 percent of Kristiansand’s population of 90,000, with Poles, Somalis, Iraqis, and Eritreans being the largest communities.

Praise

The police and the municipality praised the effort by the Muslim vigilantes.

“This has had a phenomenal effect. [The youth] showed a completely different level of respect and listened to their leaders in a different way compared to the police,” Kristiansand police chief Ole Hortemo said, adding that the city has since “totally changed.”